If you are facing major surgery, you should become fully informed of the Health Trust benefits covering hospitals and surgery. Also, if you have not already done so, you should make sure that you have made arrangements for financial matters such as power of attorney for health care, general power of attorney, will, and designations of beneficiaries.

Plan Checklist

The $200 copayment for inpatient hospital services is waived (for care received in Washington State only) when a preferred facility is used. Use the Find Network Providers page to locate a participating hospital and doctor. Most preferred providers discount their services, which means less out-of-pocket expenses. So, failure to use a preferred provider may result in a reduction of benefits.

All inpatient hospital admissions must be precertified with the medical review agency. Preadmission certification is required even if you are admitted by a preferred provider to a preferred facility.

If a physician recommends a surgical procedure listed on the second surgical opinion list, you must contact the medical review agency even if the surgery is recommended by a preferred provider.

Use the Enrollment Card if you need to update your beneficiary designations.

Also Consider...

Planning Notes:

There is risk involved any time you perform an action. There is a certain risk involved in going out your front door and driving to work. There is undeniably a greater level of risk involved in having a major surgery than in normal day-to-day activities. While it is not beneficial to exaggerate the risks involved, financial planners do recommend that people preparing to undergo scheduled major surgery should at least review several documents which would come into play in the event of death or incapacity. If you have a family and/or you have assets, you should already have considered these. But if you have sufficient time before surgery, this is an appropriate point to begin working on these. Here are the items which you may wish to update, revise, or consider prior to surgery: